In a party with
plenty of candidates claiming to be tough on illegal immigration, it
didn't play well when Perry defended his 2001 approval of a bill
extending in-state tuition rates to the children of illegal immigrants.

Perry said in one September debate that opponents of such a law "don't have a heart,"
for which he drew fierce criticism from fellow Republicans. Now, the
Perry campaign hopes Arpaio’s support will help shore up his credibility
on the issue.

"I
think it does have some kind of possibility, but it's kind of like
Perry has dug a very, very deep hole and Arpaio is throwing him a rope
to maybe pull himself out of the hole,” said Ronald Mortensen, a fellow
at the Center for Immigration Studies, an organization that pushes for tougher enforcement of immigration laws.

Perry
coupled the endorsement from Arpaio with a promise that, as president,
he'll detain and deport anyone who crosses the border illegally.
Mortensen said the strategy might take the spotlight off of Perry's
immigration record.

"In the past, he has supported in-state tuition, he
has opposed the fence and has opposed E-Verify — which is a very
critical element of drying up the jobs and the incentive for people to
come in,” Mortensen said. “So the problem is now, he's trying to say,
‘I'm going to do something and become tougher, and trust me, I will do
it.’”

The Americans for Legal Immigration Political Action Committee, which
takes a hard line on illegal immigration issues, said the "heartless"
remark ended Perry's presidential campaign. A spokesman for the group
declined a taped interview but said people who are really paying
attention to immigration policy won’t be fooled by Arpaio’s endorsement.

Others
also questioned the value of such an endorsement, citing controversy
surrounding Arpaio. The sheriff is being investigated for various
charges, including discrimination, unconstitutional search and seizure,
and misuse of funds.

"If
you go on to get the nomination, then, yeah, I could see possibly there
being some blow-back on that,” Root said. “But I think the primary is a
very conservative electorate and Perry's trying to shore up his
support.”

A recent New Hampshire poll put Perry at about 2
percent, trailing front-runner Mitt Romney by 32 points. Perry sits at
about 7 percent in Iowa, where the GOP caucus will be held in just over a
month.

More by Ben Philpott

Yes!

I want to help TucsonSentinel.com offer a real news alternative!

We're committed to making quality news accessible; we'll never set up a paywall or charge for our site. But we rely on your support to bring you independent news without the spin. Use our convenient PayPal/credit card donation form below or contact us at donate@tucsonsentinel.com today.